Analysis of the Voter Registration Pilot Project in Georgia

Background

In recent times the credibility of Georgian elections have suffered because of inaccurate Voter Lists. Voter Lists for Georgian elections are generated by a door-to-door process in the time immediately preceding the election date and the process lacks transparency and openness. This has led to elections where Voter Lists contain considerable inaccuracies and where large numbers of voters have to vote using Supplemental Voting Lists. This not only makes good election planning impossible but also means that the public perception of the credibility of the elections is seriously undermined.

Many groups have now started to discuss voter registration and the need to develop a new system of voter registration in order to produce more accurate Voter Lists. IFES has been working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) for some time in an attempt to develop a new system for registering voters. Poor quality Voter Lists in recent Local Government Elections and Parliamentary By-Elections have once again demonstrated the need for such a system.

In late 2002 the CEC established a Working Group comprising of the Deputy Chairperson of the CEC, officials of the Secretariat of the CEC and IFES. The purpose of this Working Group was to develop a system of voter registration that addresses the deficiencies of the current voter registration system and produces Voter Lists in a way which is transparent and auditable, leading to Voter Lists which build confidence in the electoral process.

The Voter Registration Consultant was contracted to work, for a short period, with this Working Group on developing a pilot project for the new voter registration system.